BEWITCHING ATTRACTION
by LittleMargarita
Summary: Valeria was just visiting the town. Marak Panthereyes was the King of the Goblins, looking for a bride, & Valeria seems to be the perfect candidate. However, he's in for a surprise. There's more to her than it meets the eye. Is it truly worth it all the trouble for him to capture her? Is it him doing the capturing or she? May turn into borderline M. READ AND FIND OUT!
1. Prologue Part 1

**_Hello people! I decided to redo this story. Deleted it and rewrote it. I had put it on hiatus for a long, long time. I had been dealing with unemployment, then got a new job, planned my wedding, then was diagnosed with cancer, recovered from that, found a better job, and well, things have slowed down a little...enough for me to dedicate time to the story again. And I had to rewrite it too because the chapters I had already written were deleted by my husband. He was fixing my computer and cleared up everything on it. I thought I had backed it up somewhere but I was wrong. _**

**_Anyway! I am back, and I hope you guys like my story. Constructive criticism is welcome. English is my second language and well, my grammar is not perfect. If you don't feel like leaving a review, you are more than welcome to leave me a message. Thank you!_**

**_DISCLAIMER: Of course, I don't own the Hollow Kingdom nor did I come up with these awesome story. The only thing I own is the characters I made up and the story settings, and I am not making any money out of this either. All hail the great and awesome Clare B Dunkle! I ran into the Hollow Kingdom book at a yard sale and fell in love with it! She is simply brilliant!_**

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**_PROLOGUE. _**

**_PART 1_**

_'I love you Valeria…you can't imagine how much'_, the man before her had said with such passion in his voice, as he trapped her in his arms. His voice had been so soft and captivating. It caused her to shiver slightly with unconscious delight.

She felt her heart pounding with violence in her chest. She did not want this. Not again. She could not let anyone tear her heart apart again. However, as much as her mind screamed at her to flee, her body remained frozen to the spot, not fighting the arms that were holding her so close. With horror, she realized how aware she was of his maleness and how attracted she felt towards him. The muscles of his chest felt strong against her graceful body and she could feel the power emanating from his whole being. But in spite of all that, she felt safe and rather liked the way he was holding her. It felt right. But uneasiness and doubt also touched her heart. She had so many conflicting emotions within her, it confused her. With frightened eyes, she raised her head and looked into those whimsical eyes she had learned to love in the past days. She could not find any deceit in them. The adoration pouring out from his face was almost unbelievable to her._ 'It's all a trick'_ a voice in her head said_ 'it's all lies. Just like before'_. She shut her eyes as many dark thoughts ran through her head and shook her head gently to rid herself of them. She did not want to think of him in such a way. She refused to think he would hurt her. But deep inside, a voice told her that he would. And another voice told her to let go off that fear and love him. But she refused to listen to both. The only thing she wanted at this time, was to wake up from this nightmare. At that moment, the man with the whimsical eyes lifted her chin up gently and whispered with a pleading voice_ 'Please…say something…'_

But the young woman was stubborn, and shook her head silently. She would not look at him nor talk to him. He could bear her silence no longer. With sadness, he studied her face, his heart wincing at her obvious rejection. Then, his eyes stopped at the sight of her luscious, tempting lips. He looked at them intently, and could not help to desire those lips. For he had yearned to kiss them himself when that cretin had tried to kiss her. He leaned down and pressed his lips against her, savoring the sweetness of her. The feelings that rushed through him at the mere contact almost caused him to stop breathing. It was a simple, chaste, loving kiss and it had caused him such bliss. And he knew then, that he would not be able to live without her. He needed her. His kingdom needed her as well. His magic had demanded he take her from the moment he saw her. Sighing deeply, he silently grieved for a short moment for what he was about to do. Surely, she would despise him for this. But he had to do this. It was his responsibility. He had his duties to fulfill and he wanted the best for his people.

She heard him sigh. She felt herself tremble lightly in his arms as he pulled away from her. As a result, she opened her violet eyes, and looked at him with surprise and fear, wondering what was he planning to do. She could tell he was about to do something she would not be happy about. He, on the other hand, looked at her with pleading eyes, begging her silently for forgiveness. He placed a finger on her forehead and she slumped in his arms unconscious.

He cradled her in his arms lovingly and looked at her with grief in his heart. She would hate him once she came out of slumber. He had betrayed her trust in him. He knew this would hurt her. He could not help to compare his actions of betrayal, to the ones of him who had betrayed her and broken her heart. And with a heavy heart, he stepped out of the house with his sleeping bride in his arms.

As soon as his guards sensed him coming out of the house, they had appeared with their horses, ready to go back to the kingdom. They all wore black cloaks and concealed their faces with the hoods.

_'Let's go home'_ he said to his guards and they nodded silently. One of them brought his horse to him and helped him with the unconscious young woman.

_'What of the other woman?'_ one of his guards asked.

_'She stays behind. Let's make haste to return home…'_ he said with final authority as he wrapped the sleeping young woman with another cloak.

His guards nodded again and he kneed his horse, ordering her to start heading home. He rode at the front of the group and led them into the forest.

But they were in for a surprise, for the young woman was not going to let herself be taken without a fight. The moon light and the forest were on her side. She was a daughter of nature after all, and nature held its own powers and mysteries. It felt the young woman's distress and it started to reach out to her to assist her. And even though she was unconscious and her body was motionless at the moment, her inner power was not. It was gathering itself for an opportune moment. It was in turmoil. It would not leave her helpless to the mercy of the strangers that were abducting her.

Her abductor gasped as he sensed the magic humming through her, building up slowly to be released explosively. He cursed softly and urged his horse to pick up speed. It was imperative for them to reach the kingdom. His guards picked up the change in speed and felt the alarm in their leader's body language. Something was wrong. They readied themselves to assist their liege and followed him faithfully.

Silently, he berated himself for not noticing how powerful she was until now. He had sensed magic in her but had thought it was insignificant. He growled, angry at himself for being so careless. He had underestimated her. He looked down at her sleeping form and held her more closely to himself. Nevertheless, it was a small comfort to him to know he had made a great choice for a bride. His people would surely benefit greatly from this. He urged his horse to go faster one more time. His bride was making him anxious, for he did not know what to expect from her. He had thought he knew everything about her but yet, she kept surprising him in many ways. His guards started to sense an unfamiliar, strong magical presence, and realized it was coming from their lord's bride. Immediately, they rode closer to their leader, knowing he could need them any minute as they made their way in the forest. But all was for naught. Because once they reached a small, shallow river and started to cross it, all hell broke loose.

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**comments anyone? :D**


	2. Prologue Part 2

**_PROLOGUE_**

**_PART 2_**

_Silently, he berated himself for not noticing how powerful she was until now. He had sensed magic in her but had thought it was insignificant. He growled, angry at himself for being so careless. He had underestimated her. He looked down at her sleeping form and held her more closely to himself. Nevertheless, it was a small comfort to him to know he had made a great choice for a bride. His people would surely benefit greatly from this. He urged his horse to go faster one more time. His bride was making him anxious, for he did not know what to expect from her. He had thought he knew everything about her but yet, she kept surprising him in many ways. His guards started to sense an unfamiliar, strong magical presence, and realized it was coming from their lord's bride. Immediately, they rode closer to their leader, knowing he could need them any minute as they made their way in the forest. But all was for naught. Because once they reached a small, shallow river and started to cross it, all hell broke loose._

A heavy fog started to form out of nowhere. The horses grew jittery, and snorted loudly expressing their discomfort. There was an eerie aura in the forest. Something was making them nervous. The fog was not normal and the animals knew it. The King and the guards had sensed the strangeness of the fog as well.

_"Keep close and alert_" The King barked at his guards, holding his bride with one arm as he controlled his horse. The horse's muscles felt tense and it had started to stomp, splashing water loudly. They had stopped their crossing when the fog had started to gather around them.

_"Be still, Brighid_" The King said with a soothing tone, trying to calm his nervous mare. He patted her neck gently and felt the mare relaxing to his touch.

On that short instant of distraction, Valeria opened her eyes slowly. Somehow and unknowingly, she had managed to break the spell the King had placed on her. Her eyes narrowed with anger as his face came into her line of vision. _'How dare he!...'_ she thought angrily. She noticed he was holding her loosely at that moment. _'It is now or never'_, she thought. And with all her might, she shoved her elbow into the King's ribs. The blow to his ribs made him groan out loud, causing his horse to become alarmed again. Brighid stumbled in the shallow water, as the King tried to catch his breath. In that split second, Valeria used her legs to shove herself off the horse and landed in the water, still wrapped in the cloak. Quickly, she took it off and let it loose in the water.

She cursed softly as the cold water touched her skin and felt the goose bumps coming on her arms. However, this did not deter her from her goal of escaping. Quickly, she scrambled in the water, using the fog to hide herself and move away from the group. She didn't know what she was doing or going, but she kept moving upriver. It was as if an unknown force was controlling her, directing her body how to move silently and in what direction. She could hear the horses whinnying and shouts coming from the group. She smirked smugly as she heard the King's voice snarling orders to his guards. She could sense in his tone that he was quite upset about being outsmarted by her. _'Sore loser'_ she muttered as she continued to wade in the water, shivering slightly as she moved up river. The fog had still not dissipated but that did not stop her from making any progress. The forest, the river, the creatures and the entities that inhabited that forest were on her side. She was being protected by nature.

Marak Panthereyes snarled with anger at his carelessness. He had not thought that she would be able to break herself free from a strong sleeping spell. Though he was impressed by her quick thinking, he was very bitter about being outwitted. _'I should have done the Leashing spell on her'_ he thought as he surveyed the area and his men spread around to look for his bride. The fog was not going away and he had conjured a spell to scatter it, but as soon as it started to scatter, it thickened even more. He looked up at the night sky through the trees and gazed at the full moon. He could feel the magic in the forest. It dawned on him that it was the forest aiding his bride to escape. However, all was not lost. A soft breeze came his way, and he caught the scent of her perfume. Smiling triumphantly, he pushed his mare to go upriver.

Several minutes had passed as the Goblin King had decided to go upriver. It had barely given Valeria any head start. But something was better than nothing. Valeria had been very quiet as she moved upriver and because of that, she heard the splashing of water and a horse's grunts as Marak was approaching her. With panic, she started to wade through the water with more speed. The fog was still concealing her, and for someone to spot her, they would have to be very close to her. That, at least, gave her some comfort. And though the fog was thick, she was amazed to find that it did not affect her vision. In fact, it seemed to be even sharper in spite of being night time. She looked ahead of her and noticed that the small river was connecting to the lake. She had not realized they had been this far into the forest and so close to the lake. With renewed hope, she came out of the water and started to run through the trees, heading towards the shore of the lake. Something was telling her to go there, and that once she reached it, she would be safe. Forgetting that stealth was of essence, she scrambled out of the water and stepped on the twigs and dry leaves that littered the forest ground, making noise that gave away her position.

Marak heard the noise and turned his mare on that direction. Brighid neighed loudly as he urged her on, her hooves stomping loudly as she moved forward. Valeria heard the horse's whiny and started to run faster. The tree branches, bushes and roots did not hinder her as she ran, and it almost seemed as if they were moving out of her way to allow her an easier escape. As she came out of the forest, she spotted the shore of the lake. She hated to be on the open but she had to run to it. The fog had not spread in that part of the forest and it left the area of the lake bare. She would be in the open, for anyone to see.

_'Now or never'_ she thought again, and sprinted out of the bushes, running towards the shore of the lake. At that moment, two of the guards came out from amongst the trees as well and hurried after her. She cried with despair as she saw them at her heel, but the shore of the lake was getting closer. She urged her body to move and her legs to run faster. She was almost there. She finally reached it and stopped abruptly. Her shoes became soaked as she stumbled into the water, which came up to her ankles. She turned around and looked at the two guards.

_"Miss…you must come with us "_ one of them said as he dismounted, his beak protruding from his hood.

She shivered at the thought of having such a creature close to her. She stepped back, farther into the water.

_"No…I am not going with you…"_ she said calmly, balling her hands into fists at her sides and breathing in the cool air softly. The water was reaching right below her knees at that moment.

The other guard dismounted and without taking his hood off, he said _"If you don't come with us willingly, then we'll have to force you…"_

She stepped farther back into the water as they came closer to her. They had not touched the water yet. She felt something building inside of her, a pressure wanting to be released. The two guards stopped their advances as they sensed her magic building up. Her hands started to give off a very soft baby blue glow. Alarmed, they tensed and took defensive stances for a magical duel. In all their years of training, they had never battled with a woman. And just as the tension in between the three started to build up, Marak made his grand appearance as his mare leaped out of the bushes. He urged the mare to where the three stood in a stand still.

Valeria snapped her head to look at him and narrowing her eyes, she extended her arms and let herself fall flat on her back into the water. As soon as she made contact with the water, she disappeared.

_"Valeria!"_ Marak called out, but she was gone.

_"What the…?"_ one of the guards said as he went into the water and submerged his arms into the spot where Valeria had been standing, his claws not finding anything but water.

_"Impossible…"_ the other had said as he stood there, his beak wide open with wonder.

Marak simply dismounted his mare silently and stared at the surface of the lake. The full moon was reflecting on its surface giving it a very ethereal appearance._ "Call the others…we're going home…"_ he ordered with an uncanny calm tone as he continued staring at the water. They nodded and mounted their horses to look for the others. They were puzzled as to why the King had not continued pursuing the woman, but being the loyal subjects they were, they did not question him. They simply had to trust that he knew what he was doing.

Once he was left alone, he came to the water and knelt on the sandy shore, and dipped his fingers into it. Smiling to himself, he said_ "This woman…she's no regular human nor an elf…"._ Sighing with defeat, he mounted his horse and headed back home. There was no point in waiting for her at her house. Surely, she would wait until sunset to come back to it. And he and his guards could not roam about in broad daylight to try to capture her. He would, however, see to sending someone during the day to check on her. He would have to plan his next attempt to capture her right away and then, he would be successful.

_"You clever, clever Valeria…you win this round so enjoy it while you can…"_ he muttered to himself, his pride stinging sharply, as he heard his men shouting in the distance.

However, Valeria would surprise him once again.

**COMMENTS? :D**


	3. Chapter 1

**And now the story begins!**

**Disclaimer: You know the drill, I don't own the amazing Hollow Kingdom Trilogy.**

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**CHAPTER 1**

_"Oh come on Valeria…you can't give me the silent treatment forever…"_ Valeria heard her companion tell her. She scowled even more as she looked outside the car's window.

Valeria sighed and let her forehead hit the car's window's glass with a soft thud. She closed her eyes and replied_ "Just get me to a bed, will you? This has been a long trip and I am tired…"_

Valeria DeSpain, a twenty one year old professional dancer, found herself stuck in a car on her way to one of her deceased father's properties. It was some old house in the outsides of a town somewhere in England. Far from shopping malls, and free of any extravagance that civilization had to offer young people like her, or so her companion had said.

But of course, it was what she needed, her companion had insisted. Miss Elvira Bradley, a very strict 32 year old woman, hired by her father to be her assistant and manager, had decided to drag her to this place in the middle of nowhere. But truly, she had brought this on herself, Valeria thought. As they drove through the quaint but charming town, Valeria sighed and thought she might as well enjoy her stay here so Miss Bradley declared that she was fit and sound to return to her usual activities.

Valeria's throat started to hurt as she thought of her deceased father. He had died a year ago and his absence still pierced the very core of her soul. However, she had not given herself time to grieve and instead, she had submerged herself into her dance competitions and pushed herself to the limits in training for them. Dancing had always been a part of her life, and then, it had become an escape from the world. It had 'saved' her from drowning herself in grief. She kept up the facade for a year. She insisted she was fine, though truly she was emotionally exhausted and the rigorous training had started to cause her problems with sleeping.

But then _he_ came. _He_ came and finished to destroy her already torn up heart. Francis Becker was his name. Her dance partner and ex-fiancée. They had decided to become engaged after dating for a couple of months. He was simply charming and very handsome. He had become her dance partner for a special competition. Miss Bradley had found him for her. She fell to his charms and found herself in love with him. He was her first boyfriend. She didn't have much of a dating life with being so busy with dancing. To her, his appearance had been a godsend. He filled her days with laughter and her grief was forgotten. The tabloids went abuzz with their relationship, and everyone thought they made an adorable couple.

But life had another blow ready for her. A couple of months before, she had caught him cheating on her with another fellow dancer. It had been such a huge fiasco. She and the other dancer had no idea he had been duping them. The tabloids went abuzz with the story of the love triangle. It had been awful for her. She had truly fallen for him, and his betrayal not only hurt her, but embarrassed her, and it had stung her pride. For the past two months Valeria had not been herself. Miss Bradley had managed to get her another dance partner so she could continue competing, but it was as if Valeria had lost her inner light. She still danced, but there was no fire in her eyes nor her movements. There wasn't any energy in the routines anymore, nor the boldness her routines were known for. She danced, but it was almost mechanic, and her eyes did not reflect the thrill and happiness they always held when she danced. She did not shine anymore. A couple of weeks prior, she had just walked out of a competition right in the middle of it. Her new dance partner had been furious with her and had quit on the spot. But she did not care. And that's when Miss Bradley decided she had intervene and had decided they would take a trip in the middle of some forsaken place, in which they did not know anyone. She had said it would be 'therapeutic' for Valeria, and that Valeria needed to stay away from stress and needed time to grieve and sort her emotions.

Valeria rolled her eyes as she thought of the lecture Miss Bradley had given her before they had taken the plane that brought them to England. She had not even argued. She simply had stayed quiet and seemed aloof while Miss Bradley's scolding took place. Miss Bradley was definitely worried with Valeria being so silent. Valeria usually did not keep quiet and always had something to retort with when she was being scolded.

Valeria shook herself out of her reverie when she felt the car stop. She removed her face off the glass and looked at Miss Bradley.

_"So this is it…"_ Miss Bradley said as she undid her seatbelt and started to step out of the car. Silently, Valeria stepped out of the car as well, and looked at the ancient house before her.

She scowled again and said _"There better be electricity in there…and Internet…"._

_"Luckily for you, there is. Your father always took great care of his properties. It may look like an old house but the inside is different…"_ Miss Bradley said as she came to stand by the young woman and placing a hand on her shoulder, she said_ "Come on…let's go in…"_

Valeria picked up her bags and brought them in. The house was huge. Once they went inside, they were greeted by an elderly couple and another woman that was in her mid forties.

_"Welcome to the Hallow Hill Property…"_ the old lady said to the young girl and her assistant_ "I am Mrs Wilkins and this is my husband, Mr. Roland Wilkins. We are the care takers of the property. This is Mrs. Mathis who lives in town and comes to help us with the maintenance of the property. Her son, Matthew, also comes every week to tend the gardens and help with maintenance as well…"_. Valeria smiled timidly at all of them and greeted them.

_"This is Valeria DeSpain, daughter of Professor Jacob DeSpain and I am Elvira Bradley, Miss DeSpain's assistant…It is nice to meet you all and I hope we all become better acquainted…"_ Miss Bradley said politely.

_"We'd like to give you our most sincere condolences on Professor's DeSpain's death. He was a great man and a very dear friend to us."_ Mr Wilkins said to both of them, his eyes full of sympathy.

Valeria cast her gaze down and stared at the wooden floor. She hated it when people looked at her with pity. It just made the pain of her loss fresher. Miss Bradley noticed Valeria's discomfort and said smiling _"Thank you for your kindness, Mr and Mrs Wilkins. We don't mean to be pushy but would you mind showing us to our rooms? Miss DeSpain is very tired and needs to get some rest"_

_"Oh yes! Of course! Once you are settled in your rooms, we'll give you a tour of the place. We don't stay here. We live in the Lodge, a smaller house at one end of the property. My wife will come down here to cook for you during the day if you need her to. The kitchen is well equipped and has everything you'll need. And if you need our help with anything, all you have to do is give us a call and we'll be here…"_ Mr Wilkins said.

His wife smiled and walking over to them, said _"Come, we'll show you to your rooms. Roland will help with your things…"_

Several minutes later, Valeria was all settled in a very luxurious looking room. She was not surprised by the extravagance. Her father had a knack for fine things. The furniture was very fine. She had King sized bed all to herself. And it was no regular bed. It was a four posted Tudor canopy bed. The comforter felt soft and there were many pillows on top of it. She laid on it and sighed wearily. In another time, she would have squealed with delight. She rolled off from it and then explored the rest of the room, noticing the nice and eye catching rugs, the paintings that decorated the room and the vases with fresh flowers. She went to the windows and touched the drapes which matched with the colors of the rugs and bed set. Standing there, she noticed that her window faced the forest. It seemed like a very peaceful place. She moved on from the window and continued to explore the rest of the room. To her delight, there were sliding glass doors that led to a porch. She thought it would be nice to sit there during the sunset and relax. The porch had a nice swinging chair. She turned around and continued to explore the inside of her room. She found a huge closet and a very nice bathroom. It had a bath tub and a shower, and a pristine looking toilet. There was a smaller closet that contained bathroom essentials and towels. She looked at the full length mirror at the back of the door and the mirror above the washbasin. It was a dream bathroom all right but it did not excite her in the least. She exited it, and started to put her clothes away, and finding a place for her other belongings. She had a desk in the room so she set her laptop on top of it.

When she changed into a pair of sweats and a tank top, and took off her shoes, she felt better. She looked at the spacious room and thought there was even enough room for her to try to do some dancing. She had a stereo in the room, after all. But even though the thought popped into her mind, she did not feel the excitement to dance anymore. She pulled out a picture of her father and cradled it in her arms, as she lay back down on the bed and shut her eyes. Oh she missed him so much, she thought. For the first time in a year, she felt the tears well up in her arms, and running down freely and she could not stop them. She lay on her stomach and muffled her sobs with the pillow. When he had died, she had not allowed to cry for him. She felt she had to be strong for herself and her brother, and the rest of the family. She had thought that if she cried, she would let her father down, that she was being weak if she did. But now she could see how much she had been holding back. She thought of the many happy memories she had of her father. She cried for hours, and released a lot of the sorrow she had been carrying for a whole year. When she was too exhausted to cry, she noticed her room had grown dark but there was a full moon outside, and some of its light poured into her room through the sliding doors. She stood up and went to the sliding glass doors, and gazed at the night sky. It was so pure and beautiful. It was soothing and peaceful. She placed her palm on her chest and noticed that the constant pressure she had carried for the past year felt less intense. She felt as if her burden had been become lighter. It was then that she realized that maybe Miss Bradley had been right in bringing her to Hallow Hill. Maybe she really needed this. She yawned softly and feeling exhausted, she went back to bed and slipped under the covers, feeling more hopeful about a new day.

Outside her room, a long eared owl watched the house with keen interest. He had been observing the house since the sun had set. There had been a lot of new movement in the house and it had made him very curious. After a few hours of watching the house, he had noticed the young woman that had come to the sliding doors. He had not gotten a good look of her since she did not stay long by the glass doors, and had closed the blinds. The owl flapped his wings and took off into the forest bringing with him the news of the visitors in Hallow Hill.

Unsuspecting of what had just occurred outside, Valeria slept soundly. Even though it had been a short moment, the simple act of standing by the sliding doors had sealed her fate.


	4. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Valeria woke up very early. She yawned and stretched on the luxurious, comfortable bed. Snuggling back into the pillows, she smiled as she noticed how refreshed she felt. It had been a while since she had felt like this in the morning. Feeling energized, she jumped off the bed and brushed her hair. She did not bother to change, and decided to explore the house on her own. She looked at the clock on the wall and it said it was 7:00 A.M. She doubted Miss Bradley was awake yet.

Walking around barefoot, she found some stairs and went to investigate what the rooms on the second floor were like. She found a study, with a nice expensive desk, the type her father favored, with a nice comfy looking leather chair. There was a sleek looking desktop computer on it, and a printer. She scanned the book shelves and found many books on Archeology, Anthropology and History. Her eyes pricked with some tears as they reminded her of her father and his career field. She found some small frames of pictures of herself when she was little and of her older brother, and father. Then it dawned on her that this room had been her father's study. It also had a small sitting area, in the center of it a fireplace and some comfy leather couches. It made her feel nostalgic and wondered how often her father had come here. Not being able to handle the sadness any longer, she hastily left the room. She walked down the hall to another room. This one was some sort of salon. It was very spacious. She noticed there were mirrors on the walls, and a ballet stretching bar. On a corner, there was an entertainment center which had a 70 inch flat screen television, a Home Theater system with a DVD player. Opening one of the doors, she found an array of dance DVDs and music CDs. She closed the cabinet's door abruptly, feeling a lump forming in her throat. It seemed her father had remodeled this room thinking of her. A dance studio all for her. So if she happened to come one day, she would have a place to practice. It had been decorated and furnished with colors she liked. In one end of the room, there was a small sitting area, and to the opposite corner, there was a grand piano. Unable to resist its pull, Valeria made her way to the piano and sat on the bench. Opening it, she started to run her hands on the keys and started to play a song. She played "For Elise" by Beethoven. It was the first song that her father had taught her. Her hands trembled slightly as she finished the piece. Taking a deep breath, she swallowed the tears that were threatening to break free and told herself that she needed to pull herself together. She started to play 'Waterfall' by Jon Schmidt which was a livelier piece. She made a couple of errors and started over each time. In the fourth attempt, she played the piece flawlessly and smiled to herself with satisfaction.

She was startled by someone clapping. She stood up and noticed Miss Bradley smiling at her, and clapping, standing by the door. Valeria smiled timidly and then closed the piano cover, then stood up from the bench and went to her.

_"It's been a long long time since I've seen you play…"_ Miss Bradley commented.

Valeria shrugged and said _"I just couldn't ignore it. It's such a beautiful piano…"_

_"You're so good at it! Too bad you didn't pursue it…"_ her assistant said as they both walked back downstairs to the kitchen.

_"I love dancing more. Dancing runs in my veins. I have more passion for it than the piano…"_ Valeria replied.

When they entered the kitchen, Mrs. Wilkins was already cooking them breakfast. The aroma of bacon and cinnamon caused Valeria's stomach to growl. Instead of going to the dining room, they decided to eat at the kitchen. The kitchen had a bar counter where they could sit. Valeria sat on the stool happily as Mrs. Wilkins placed a plate filled with scrambled eggs, bacon, and French toast. She devoured it all and ate a second plate. Once she finished her orange juice glass, she noticed Miss Bradley was looking at her with amusement.

_"What?"_ she asked feeling a bit self conscious and annoyed.

_"It's been a while since I've seen you eating like that…"_ the woman replied _"I'm glad to see your appetite coming back. You've had me a bit worried for a while…"_

Valeria dropped her gaze to her empty plate feeling a bit guilty. After the fiasco with her ex-fiancée, she had been too depressed to eat properly. She was still eating but not as she should have. She was a dancer and needed to keep her body in top health. But the disruption in her eating habits was not going to keep her in top conditions to dance and Miss Bradley had been worried about that. She had tried talking to the young woman about it, but Valeria had lashed out on her.

_"I realize I've been difficult these past months…"_ Valeria said softly _"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause any trouble..."_

Miss Bradley gave her a quick hug and then said _"Come on, we've got a whole day ahead of us. I heard there's going to be a festival in town. Remember that big park at the center of the town? That's where it will take place. I think it would be nice to do some exploring…don't you think?"_

Valeria nodded and then hurried to her room to get ready for the day. When she entered her room, she noticed a small brown mouse scurrying about the room. It was as if it was studying her room. When Valeria came in, its little ears perked up and the little mouse sat on his haunches and looked at her. Its little nose was quivering. Valeria noticed that it seemed to not be afraid of her. Slowly, she knelt down and got closer to it, crawling towards it. The mouse did not move. She narrowed her eyes to look at it closely and noticed that it had a white patch around its right eye, and also noticed that its eyes had a bright quality to it. As if the little creature was an intelligent being.

_"Hi there little friend…"_ she said softly and with her index finger, she caressed its furry tiny head. The mouse did not run away. She smiled and offered him her palm. The mouse sniffed her hand and then jumped into it. She was amazed at the fact that this little rodent was not afraid of humans. She had a granola bar in a pocket of her sweats, so she put the mouse back down on the floor and gave him a piece of it. The little animal took the piece and ran under a chair. Valeria chuckled and stood up, and proceeded to her bathroom to take a shower. She had always liked animals and had never really feared them.

Once she was done with her shower, she saw no signs of the little mouse anywhere. She hoped he would come back._ 'It would be nice to have a roommate'_, she thought amused.

The young woman brushed her long, brown, glossy straight hair and allowed it to sit on her shoulder. She put on a violet tank top and a pair of her favorite jean shorts. It seemed it was going to be a warm day. However, this did not bother her. She rather liked warm weather. The shirt brought out her violet eyes, and it also complimented her light tan skin. She had a small nose, thick black eyelashes and plump rosy lips. She was a rather pretty young woman. The way her body was shaped due to so much dancing was enticing. She was of medium height, and had a much toned body. Her ankles were beautifully shaped and her legs were strong. Her gait and posture were graceful due to many years of dancing. She had an exotic air about her. She did not wear any make up, except for some lip gloss and after putting a pair of her sneakers on and snatching her purse, she headed out to the living room to meet Miss Bradley.

As she approached the living room, she heard Mrs. Wilkins and Miss Bradley talking.

_"Professor DeSpain's death was very hard on his daughter, wasn't it?"_ Mrs. Wilkins said _"Poor child. What a terrible misfortune to be an orphan twice..."_

_"Yes, it has been hard on her. She loved him very much and he completely adored her as well. They were almost inseparable for a few years. Professor DeSpain lost his wife when she gave birth to his son. For five years, the man submerged in his work and did not mourn her. But we all knew he was very distraught about her death, but he did not want to show it. He did not give himself time to grieve. He wouldn't even spend much time with Anthony, his son. I was his boy's nana back then. Then, one day, he came back with Valeria. She was probably three years old or so at the time. He found her playing in the middle of some forest in Greece. He had been in a trip, doing some research work with an anthropology colleague. And from then on, he changed. He was happier. He even started spending more time with Anthony. However, Valeria was always his favorite, you could say, because he took her with him in all his trips around the world…that is until he noticed Valeria had an uncanny talent of learning the local dances of the places that they visited. When she turned twelve, he decided she should pursue dancing and appointed me as her assistant and manager. He also hired a trainer and choreographer for her, and she started to dance professionally...And it has been like that ever since…"_ Miss Bradley said.

_"That's quite a story! And it seems Miss Valeria has the same stubbornness her father possessed when it came to grieving…I hope she finds healing in here…"_ Mrs. Wilkins said.

Valeria felt a pang of longing for her father and did not feel comfortable with this woman knowing her story. She had always known she was adopted, but it didn't make it any easier to accept it. Many nights when she was little, she had wished Professor DeSpain was her real father. Valeria bit her lower lip and forced the tears back._ 'Stop it'_ she told herself as she pushed the sadness back. She was going to enjoy herself today, she told herself. She was sure her father would want that too. It was time she started to move on. In spite of her two tragedies, the death of her father and the betrayal of her ex-fiancée, life went on and she had to move on with it. She was a twenty one year old young woman with a bright career, for goodness sake! No more mopping around, she thought. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders, and with a brave smile, she came into the living room.

_"Ready?"_ Miss Bradley asked

Valeria nodded and holding her purse, she said_ "Yes, let's go…"_

As they made their way to the car, a Raven with intelligent eyes was perched on a tree at the front of the house. It watched both of them leave in the car to the town. Squawking, it flew off into the forest.

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o**

Valeria and Miss Bradley strolled around the town, visiting the shops and talking to the locals. At noon, they went into a small but cozy restaurant. A bunch of young girls came to Miss Bradley's and Valeria's table to introduce themselves. They had heard about the visitors in Hallow Hill.

_"How did you hear about us?"_ Valeria asked as they waited for their food.

_"Small town. Hardly anything exciting happens so almost anything makes big news…Besides, my mom, Mrs. Mathis, works at the property. She is very good friends with the Wilkins and also knew the Professor "_ A blond haired girl said, whose name was Marie and was barely 20 years old.

The group of five girls chatted with Valeria excitedly. They practically interrogated her and were ecstatic to find out she was a professional dancer. When Valeria's and Miss Bradley's order came, the girls said their goodbyes and insisted that she attend the festival. Valeria promised she'd meet them there.

Once they finished their lunch, they continued exploring the town and tried to memorize who was who and owned what shop. Valeria could not believe it but she was actually enjoying herself. It had been a while since she had felt so carefree, so light hearted. Time flew, and it was mid afternoon when they headed to the festival. There were booths of food and merchandise; there were games and other attractions. Valeria spotted the girls and Miss Bradley practically shoved her off to them.

_"You need to make some friends. They seemed nice…go enjoy yourself…"_ Miss Bradley said.

Valeria frowned and said _"You're making me feel like a teenage girl that is a new student in her school…"_

At that moment, Mrs. Wilkins and her husband ran into them and started a conversation with Miss Bradley. Feeling left out, Valeria excused herself and went to seek the group of girls.

The girls took her from one place to another; they went on the rides and ate some junk food. Valeria was actually enjoying their company and enjoyed speaking to them. It was starting to get dark, and that was when a group of young men joined them. Valeria was introduced to all of them, including Matthew, Mrs. Mathis' son, whom she found out was 24 years old and Marie's older brother. The young men decided to have a football (soccer) game in a grassy area of the park. There were a lot of trees and bushes there. The girls contented themselves with watching them play. However, in the middle of the match, one of them twisted his ankle and had to step out of the game.

_"Come on! One of you should play for him!"_ Matthew asked. The girls, of course, refused.

_"Sorry big brother, but you know I don't play…"_ Marie said to him, batting her eyelashes at him in an innocent way.

_"Shame on you! You're not worthy of being my sister! Such a sin to dislike football!"_ Matthew said with an accusing, but playful tone. Valeria laughed out loud at the siblings' banter and Matthew turned to look at her.

_"What about you Valeria? Would you play for Jon?"_ Matthew asked

Valeria said _"Oh I would only get in the way, really!..I love football but I am not that good…"_

That was enough for the young men to pester her and so, they finally convinced her to play with them. Valeria played with them, and scored a couple of times, as her new friends cheered for her. The young men were actually impressed with her football (soccer) skills and after the game, they demanded an explanation.

"_I lived in Brazil for about a year. I was maybe 8 or 9 at the time…"_ she said as she was sprawled on the grass, trying to catch her breath _"I learned to play with the local boys. Football is big over there. I could not help but to fall in love with it…"_

_"Did you learn to speak Portuguese too?"_ Marie asked very curious.

_"Yes, I did. It's not as fluent as my Spanish though. My Spanish is better…"_ Valeria replied as Matthew handed her a water bottle, which she accepted gratefully.

While everyone else was focused on the conversation with Valeria, Jon had been trying to stand up, even though his ankle still hurt, and had been trying to kick the ball around a bit. However, it was proving to be too much of an effort and without meaning to, he ended up kicking the ball into some bushes. The sudden movement caused him to fall on his back on the grass as the others yelled at him for being so careless with his injured ankle. He was a stubborn guy and felt his injury wasn't so bad. While the others attention was on Jon, Valeria stood up and volunteered to get the ball. By then, it was really dark and only the lamp posts in that part of the park provided them with light. She could hear in the distance, the music and chattering of the people at the festival. She went into the bushes and walked behind some trees, looking for the ball. After a few minutes of looking around, she found it.

When she was standing up with the ball in her hands, she heard some twigs snapping. Alarmed, she looked around and from the corner of her eyes, she thought she saw a shadow. Feeling nervous, she hurried out of there, with a feeling that she was being watched. As she made her way back to the others, she bumped into someone's hard chest.

_"Ow!"_ she said as she rubbed her nose.

_"Scared of the dark?"_ Matthew said jokingly, as he held her arms to steady her _"You're supposed to look where you're going"_

Valeria rubbed her nose and said indignantly _"Of course not! I just couldn't see well. It IS very dark, you know…here's your ball…"_

Matthew took the ball from her hands and said grinning_ "Come on. We gotta go back to the festival. It's almost time for the fireworks…"_

Valeria followed him silently as they made their way back to rejoin the group. However, she could not shake the feeling that someone was watching her. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and scolded herself for being paranoid._ 'Maybe I'm feeling like this because this place is new to me…'_ she thought. Doing her best to ignore the feeling, she focused in joining the group's conversation.

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o**

_"Well done, Aristar…"_ Marak Panthereyes said to the long eared owl perched on a tree branch above him. His yellow cat-like eyes gleamed in the dark as he pondered about the young woman named Valeria. There was something special about her. He was intrigued by her, especially since his magic was demanding that he take her.

The owl hooted and then landed in front of him, transforming into a goblin. He nodded with reverence at his King and said_ "We've been watching her from the moment she came. I hope you've found her pleasing…"_

_"Indeed, I have…"_ Marak Panthereyes said with conviction, his face broke into a sly smile, and added_ "Funny how I had been considering what girl to take from this town...Marie had been the one I'd been thinking of the most...but it's the stranger that I've decided to choose as my bride..."_


	5. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

A week passed and the little vacation in the middle of nowhere seemed to be doing some good to Valeria. She seemed to be more cheerful and stopped having that look of restrain in her eyes. Though she still grieved for her father, she had started to handle it better and move on with life. Her father's motto had always been _'Nor love thy life, nor hate; but what thou livest, live well'_. She had also applied that to her own life, until her father's death happened. Often times she found herself mulling about how sudden his death was. But of something she was completely certain: That her father had loved what he did even on the last minute of his life and had lived his last minutes well. She figured if her father had lived his life well even in the very last minute of it, she should be doing so as well. Sometimes she wondered if he had suffered at all, but the investigators and authorities had assured her that his death had been instant. He had died in a plane crash. The small plane had been gliding through some canyons in Africa when a flash thunder storm came out of nowhere and knocked the plane down. Such is life, she thought, full of surprises, whether they are wonderful or terrible. She also decided that talking about it was helpful and would sit down with Miss Bradley to talk about her musings sometimes, which was something she had refused to do before. She felt rather guilty for not snapping out of her depression sooner. But then again, Miss Bradley also reminded her that she had not only had to deal with her grief but also the pain of betrayal from her ex-fiancee. It was Valeria's first time in dealing with grieving and heartache, and she had to deal with both at the same time. Hearing such comforting words, made Valeria feel a little better. Miss Bradley had not only been her manager for several years, but had also become her friend. And even though, she was her friend and had been trying to help her, Valeria had rejected her offers of help and decided to bear her grief on her own. Now she knew better than to have such immature and foolish attitude. She never knew what it was like to have a mother and she figured that Miss Bradley was the closest thing to it. And for that, she felt very grateful.

During the afternoons, she would walk around the woody and rather wild land. She really enjoyed being outdoors, especially since the weather seemed to be lovely all the time. Sometimes she would go into town and meet up with her new friends. She learned that they were all attending the community college for the time being and that they were having their summer break. Other times, she would simply stay indoors and practice some dance routines in the studio. She had some video conferences with her coach, Hector de la Cruz, via her computer so he could keep her up to date with the world of professional dancers, and such. And even though she devoted some hours to practice her dancing, she still did not feel confident enough to return to competitions nor felt the urge to join her world. It was actually nice to stay away from big, busy cities. This place was so quiet, it gave her time to think and ponder, and relax. She loved spending quiet evenings in her room, with the sliding doors open, enjoying the cool breeze from the forest. Her little mouse friend would come every night and keep her company while she read or just listened to her music.

One afternoon, Valeria was helping Mrs. Mathis with the tending of the vegetable garden at the back of the house. Mrs. Mathis was telling Valeria what the weather was like in this part of the country and what the land was like. She told Valeria of some waterfalls at some cliff face. Valeria's eyes lit with curiosity, and when she was done helping Mrs. Mathis, she went to look for Miss Bradley.

_"How does doing some exploring in the woods sound like to you?"_ Valeria said as she came inside.

Miss Bradley had been typing something in her laptop and closed the top, to look at Valeria with a puzzled expression.

_"Mrs. Mathis just told me of some waterfalls…I'd like to see them…We really haven't done much exploring in the forest…"_ Valeria explained sitting next to Miss Bradley.

The older woman smiled and said_ "Lucky for you, I don't mind outdoor activities…sounds like a good idea. Much better than staying inside and letting this lovely weather go to waste…"_

Several minutes later, Valeria and Miss Bradley found themselves walking on some hiking trail. Valeria had a map of the area in case they got lost. They walked for a little over an hour and found the waterfalls. Valeria noticed that the cliff's face had a lot of crevices and handholds, which were perfect for rock climbing. In spite of her manager's protests, she went to the foot of the cliff's face and started to climb it, until she reached the top of the waterfall. She was a good 10 feet high up.

Miss Bradley pulled out a professional camera and took her a picture. Valeria grinned and then started to climb down carefully. Since the waterfalls ended up in a pool of crystalline water, Valeria took her shirt and shorts off to reveal a two piece bathing suit. A black Nike tankini. She went into the cool water and swam around. The pool wasn't too big nor deep, but it still made a nice swimming spot. She looked at Miss Bradley sitting on a smooth boulder taking pictures of her.

_"Hey! What are those for?"_ she asked coming closer to her.

_"Oh we haven't submitted your pictures for the top dancers from the Latin Dance Masters Competition. Remember? All the top dancers in that competition were going to submit pictures to make a calendar for a fundraiser. I submitted some pictures of you in the middle of your routines but they did ask for pictures in swimming suits as well…"_ Miss Bradley replied.

Valeria sighed and proceeded to pose so she could get it over with sooner rather than later. She had no trouble posing for the pictures and was a natural. She was used to it. It was part of being a professional in the world of entertainment. After several minutes, when Miss Bradley said they had enough pictures to work with, Valeria swam around for a little while, then came out and put her clothes back on. They sat down and studied the map once again. Valeria noticed there was a lake farther up the trail and a stream. As they discussed the land marks and trails in the map, they noticed that it was starting to get late. While they walked back to the house, Valeria said_ "I've seen some of the pictures you've taken in previous competitions and other places we've gone to…you really are a good photographer. It's very convenient and we don't have to hire someone to do it. I've never asked but did you go to school for that?"_

Miss Bradley smiled and said _"Yes. I decided to pursue Photography right after I graduated from High School. However, my family was not very happy about it. You see, my father and many of his relatives are all lawyers. The idea of having one of his children pursuing Art instead of Law did not seem appealing to him. He thought it was shameful to the family. I stood my ground and left home, and decided to live on my own. It was very hard for me to work and pay for school. I didn't really finish school. However, being in the Art club also helped me develop organization skills and such, and your father saw that. I organized an Art auction event which he attended and he offered me a job. I helped him in his office at first, but then your brother was born and so I was charged with his care. Then you came and your father appointed me as your manager…"_

Valeria was surprised to learn that. She had known she had worked for her father for a while, and that she had gone to school for photography, but had not known the details. It made her realize that there were some things she still did not know about her assistant and she felt a bit guilty about it. She realized she had been too self absorbed in her own world and hadn't made an effort to get to know her better, so she decided she would become a little closer to Miss Bradley, and truly become her friend. She made no comment and they continued walking silently towards the house. They reached the house as the sun was setting. Valeria heard some flapping above her and noticed a long eared owl perched on a tree branch. She frowned with confusion._ 'Isn't it too early for you to be out?'_ she thought, but shrugged it off. She was hungry and could not wait to get inside to change her clothes and have dinner.

After having dinner, Miss Bradley worked on downloading the pictures, submitting them online and printing the rest to put in an album. With the years, Miss Bradley had made albums of pictures of every competition Valeria had participated in, and the places they had visited. She took the stack of pictures to the living room and showed them to Valeria. After watching TV for a bit, they both turned in for the night.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

A dark small figure suddenly appeared in the middle of the living room, and bent over the coffee table to look at the pile of pictures on top of it. It picked one of the pictures up, and studied it carefully. The figure gasped with some embarrassment at looking at a picture of Valeria wearing the black tankini. It muttered something about the youth being immodest nowadays, and then it moved towards the front door silently, taking the picture with it. Once at the door, the dark figure shrunk…and changed into a mouse. It then pushed the picture outside under the door. Then it hurried to Valeria's room. It was Valeria's little mouse friend. Outside, the long eared owl picked up the picture with its claws and flew away with it, to present it to his King. Marak had been too busy the past week to check on his bride and so it was left to his guards to keep an eye on her, and make reports on her. Aristar thought it would be nice to take a souvenir for the King.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Clueless as to what was going on outside her room's door, Valeria noticed the little mouse perched on a book shelf. She greeted him and then put some music on.

She walked to the open sliding doors, and noticed that even though the sky had a half moon, its light was still very bright. She sat down on the porch, and stared at the starry sky in silent awe. She was still not used to seeing such a clear sky at night. You could not see the stars in the city. After an hour or so, of being deep in thought and enjoying the night, she glanced at the clearing in front of her. The grass had been cut that morning and the moonlight gave it a rather ethereal look. Suddenly, she felt prompted to go to the clearing and dance. It had been a while since she felt a genuine urge to dance. She was wearing a black Capri pajama bottoms and a white tank top. She could hear the music coming from her room and that made her urge to dance even more intense. Barefoot, she stood up and tip toed off the porch's deck and on to the clearing. She could hardly hear the music from her room from there, but it didn't matter. She could hear it in her head. She started with a pose, and then proceeded to twirl around moving her arms gracefully. She closed her eyes as she allowed her body to move in synchronization with the music in her head. Her hair was loose and it flowed around her as she spun and hopped about following a silent rhythm. Her lithe movements seemed intrinsic with the moonlight and sounds of the forest. She smiled as she moved her hips rhythmically, and moved her arms and hands in a very alluring way. Her dance spoke of seduction and sensuality as her whole body swayed gracefully and with confidence. She was dancing a Tango, and had the music inside her head. After a few minutes, she finished with a very sensual looking pose. Suddenly, she snapped out of her reverie with alarm. She felt as if someone was watching her from the trees. It was that same odd sensation she had felt a few days earlier at the park, when she had gone looking for the ball. Not wasting a minute, she ran back inside and closed the sliding doors. Glancing outside the doors quickly, she didn't find anything unusual but could not shake the feeling away from her mind. So, she closed the blinds and turned in for the night. Once in bed, she had a hard time falling asleep. She still had that odd sensation that someone was watching her.

Very late into the night, she finally fell asleep. However, her sleep was somewhat fitful because she was having a rather strange dream. She dreamed of being in the woods and being followed by cloaked figures. She was running through the forest, the branches and roots kept tripping her as she ran. She found herself in a clearing and a long eared owl flew over her head startling her. She staggered and fell backwards, not seeing the cursed creature anywhere. Suddenly, a cloaked and hooded figure appeared in front of her and the only thing she could see of the hooded figure were its yellow feline eyes looking deeply into her frightened violet eyes.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Marak Panthereyes had barely finished a meeting with some of his counselors, when Aristar had come into his study to give him the picture.

_"What's this?"_ He asked wearily as he rubbed the bridge of his nose with his eyes closed, not actually looking at the picture that was laid in front of him. He had had a trying day and he was ready for a break.

_"A picture of your bride…"_ Aristar said _"She was at the waterfalls today…"_

Marak opened his eyes slowly. It seemed this woman had a knack for adventure. Not many of the youth from the town were bold enough to go that far into the forest. Many of the town's people avoided it if they could. And then his eyes really widened with surprise at seeing Valeria with little clothing, posing so sensually in the picture. Though he had laid awake thinking of her a few nights now, and devoted some minutes of the day to day dream about her, he had never imagined her in such attire or looking so alluring. Nevertheless, he regained his composure in an instant and set the picture aside to focus on what his guard needed to say.

_"I think you should bring her here quickly before someone else notices her and claims her for his own…"_ Aristar said _"She attracts a lot of attention, if you ask me…Mrs. Mathis' son fancies her..."_

Marak sighed wearily and said_ "I've had a lot of matters to attend to these past days. And though I know you are capable of bringing her to me, I would like to capture her myself…Has she shown any interest on him?"_

Aristar nodded and said _"None that I can tell. She seems to be holding something back when she's with the other young adults from town. I can see she enjoys their company but something is off with her. It's as if she's being cautious to open up. Which makes sense...the young woman is still dealing with the death of her father and a betrayal from a previous love. That's what Morgen has reported to me anyway. Morgen has been keeping an eye on her and has done a great job at it. He's really good at shape shifting. Not everyone can change into a very small animal…."_

Marak smirked and said _"It's interesting how his outside appearance is very dwarf like but his magic is more goblin than dwarf…I'm glad he can be inside the house to keep an eye on her unnoticed and protect her immediately if it were necessary..."_

Marak stood up from his desk and added with resolve _"Very well then. I shall go to Hallow Hall tonight and see things for myself…"_. He dismissed Aristar and then headed out to the DeSpain's property.

Marak was hiding in the trees that bordered the clearing that faced the young woman's room when he felt a change in the air. His training told him it was magic, and that's when he saw her. She was standing in the middle of the clearing and then started to do her dance. Marak's yellow Panthereyes were locked on her and absorbed each one of her movements. As a result, her movements told him a lot about her: they showed gracefulness, boldness, strength, and passion. But there was something else in there. And he realized the magical energy he had felt earlier was coming from her. He narrowed her eyes as he studied her features. His observation indicated that she could be an elf cross. Nevertheless, his magic told him he was wrong. Elves liked to dance at the full moon and their dancing style was merrier. This young woman's dancing style was something entirely different. It was as if dancing was a language for her, for she communicated many things as she danced and it was almost as if the nature around her responded to it. Marak had been too distracted with his own musings when he noticed that the young woman had stopped dancing, and looked alarmed. Cursing softly, he made sure he was concealed in the darkness of the forest. He had been so entranced with her dancing that he had forgotten all about taking her. He cursed silently and thought of going into her room to take her. It would be easy after all.

However, he stopped to think as he pondered over what he had seen. She was far more interesting than what he had imagined. It was as if she had bewitched him, for now he was sure he would not be able to stop thinking about her. He decided to observe her a bit more. In the end, she was going to become his wife anyway. He tapped his chin softly as he made his way back to the kingdom. He was deep in thought, planning what his next move would be. As he reached the kingdom's door, he had decided that he would make his first appearance the following night and introduce himself to her. Oh he was going to have fun with that, he thought with anticipation. A sly look crossed his features as he entered his kingdom.

* * *

**Dun Dun Dun! And Marak decides to make an appearance!**


	6. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Valeria woke up late the following morning. She rolled off the bed slowly and groaned loudly as she noticed how late it was. Luckily, she had nothing planned for the day. She dragged herself to the bathroom and started to get ready for the day. When she came down to the kitchen, she found Mrs. Wilkins cleaning up and putting away that morning's breakfast.

_"Good morning, Mrs. Wilkins_" She said politely as she went to the fridge to get herself some orange juice.

_"You're up! I was wondering if you were sick or something. You're usually up early…Are you all right?"_ Mrs. Wilkins said, giving her a concerned motherly look.

Valeria smiled as best as she could, trying to hide how tired she felt, and explained_ "Oh I just had a hard time sleeping last night. I was having weird dreams…"_

Mrs. Wilkins frowned and said_ "Bad dreams? Do you mind me asking what your dreams were about?"_

Valeria felt a bit uncomfortable speaking of her 'misfortunes' with her, so she replied shrugging_ "Oh nothing too bad. It must've been triggered by some of the scary movies we've been watching with Miss Bradley lately…"_

The last thing Valeria wanted was to make people worry about her again. They would probably think she was still struggling with her depression and was now having nightmares because of it. She sat at the table and Mrs. Wilkins served her breakfast. Valeria ate quickly so as to not encourage Mrs. Wilkins to interrogate her again. She thanked her for the meal and then started to head out the kitchen, when Mrs. Wilkins said _"Miss Valeria, Mrs. Mathis' daughter, Marie, will be having a get together in her home today in the evening. She asked me to pass the message to you so you can attend…"_

Valeria thanked her again and was about to head out to town when she noticed the car was gone. Miss Bradley had taken the car to town that morning and had not returned yet. She sighed a bit frustrated, and hoped she would come back soon. She was bored and didn't feel like spending time cooped up inside the house. Valeria started to wander about the property again, when she found a big shed. In a corner, she noticed a dusty thick plastic covering something. She went over to it and took the plastic off. She gasped with surprise as it revealed a 1999 Yamaha TT-R250. It was a bit grimy but overall, it seemed to be in one piece. With some difficulty, she pulled it out and took it out of the shed. She cleaned it up as best as she could. Her brother had a dirt bike collection at home and had taught her how to ride them, and a bit of maintenance on them. She checked for the oil and it seemed it would hold for a bit longer before it needed to be changed. She found the ignition keys taped on the seat and started it. At first it stuttered, but she started to run the gas on it and the engine sounded smooth. She smiled excitedly as she noticed it still had half a tank of gas. She took it for a trial run around the property and found it to be fully functional.

She went back inside and told Mrs. Wilkins she was going to town and to let Miss Bradley know that she was attending Marie's get together in case she returned and did not find her at home. Quickly she mounted the dirt bike and sped off to the town.

From one of the windows, the little mouse watched and scurried away. He had to let the King know what was happening.

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Marak smiled slyly as he received this little bit of information. This would definitely make it easier for him to present himself to her, he thought. _'Perfect…'_ he said to himself as he dismissed Morgen. Oh he could hardly wait to speak to her for the first time.

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Valeria made it to town and actually ran into Miss Bradley as she came out of a bookstore. She explained to her that she'd be spending the evening with Marie and the rest of her friends at her house. Miss Bradley simply warned her to be careful on her way home if it happened to grow very late, or call her so she could come pick her up. Valeria insisted she could ride the bike home. Miss Bradley smiled and told her to have fun.

That evening, Marie and the rest of the girls were huddled in Marie's back yard around a fire pit, making S'mores. They had dinner earlier and watched a movie, and had now moved to the backyard to hang out. Marie's house was on the outskirts of the town and the backyard faced the forest. When the stars came out, Claire, one of the girls, started to point out the constellations. Everyone listened with interest to what she had to say. Valeria was enjoying herself when suddenly, that same feeling of being watched returned; and as a result, she started to shift nervously in her spot. Marie noticed her discomfort and asked _"Are you cold?"_

Valeria shook her head and said dismissively_ "Oh it's nothing…I was just wondering how late it was…"_

_"It's just 8:35 PM. It's still early…you can crash at my place if you don't want to make the trip alone to the Hall…"_ Marie offered thinking Valeria was worried about going home in the dark so late.

Valeria smiled at her and shook her head. _"Oh no! I'll be fine. It wouldn't be the first time I've had to 'brave'…"_ she said this wiggling her fingers to emphasize this word _"… the dark to get to place before…besides, the dirt bike has a light so it's not like I won't be able to see what's in front of me…"_

Lauren looked at her with mischief in her eyes and said with a teasing tone_ "Oh really? Well, the light isn't going to protect you from __them__..."_

Valeria frowned with confusion and asked_ "Them? Who's Them?"_

The others exchanged looks of reluctance and remained silent for a couple of minutes. Marie rolled her eyes and told Lauren to stop teasing Valeria. Since no one else wanted to break the silence, Lauren continued_ "The Goblins…it is said that this land and forest…"_ she said waving her hand towards the trees _"…belonged to the goblins and elves a long long time ago. Many stories tell of how they kidnapped human girls to marry them and they were never seen again. They simply disappeared as if the earth had swallowed them. Being kidnapped by an elf was considered lucky at one point, because they are said to be very beautiful creatures. However, a goblin…that was a different story. They are described to be simply terrifying and that was the worst fate that could befall a girl…"_

The other young women had remained quiet for a couple of minutes, staring at the fire or at each other. Valeria sighed with impatience and said _"You don't truly believe those stories, right? Every place has their own myths and old wives' tales…but they're not necessarily true. For example, many people in Europe would claim encounters with Vampires to excuse their unfaithful behavior. Unfaithful spouses would say that the 'creature was unbelievably beautiful, with enchanting eyes and a very alluring voice' and could not resist the 'tempting seduction' that caused them to cheat on their spouses…"_

_"That may be true Valeria…but there have been reported cases of missing girls…"_ Claire said solemnly _"And no one knows what happened to them. They simply vanished._" She then turned her attention to her engagement ring and smiled to herself.

The rest of the young women noticed this and started to tease her, and had her tell them about her fiancée and the upcoming wedding. The topic of the goblins was forgotten quickly. Valeria tried to focus on the conversation but was having a hard time doing so. She still had that odd sensation of being watched and it was making her a bit edgy. However, she was doing her best to hide it. By the time that it was almost midnight, she decided to return home. Marie tried to talk her into spending the night at her home and even insinuated that her brother would be very happy to have her around. She said that Matthew made some crepes that were to die for, and if Valeria stayed, she could convince him to make them some for breakfast. Valeria, however, was adamant about going home. She just did not want to impose and besides, she wanted to get rid of that funny feeling she had been having. She thought the only way to get rid of it was by making the trip home in the dark. After all, facing your fears was the best way to rid yourself of them, right?

After saying her goodbyes, she mounted the dirt bike and started up the slope on the hill, heading home.

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Marak Panthereyes had been watching the young women huddled around the fire pit in the backyard. He had been listening to their boring conversations. At one point, he was considering on causing a small commotion to liven things up, when one particular young lady had started to speak about goblins. At first, he had found her story very comical and almost insulting; but then, he studied Valeria's reactions to the story. She had seemed skeptical, but he could tell she was slightly uneasy and was trying to hide it. He found this very interesting. She could obviously sense something was amiss. Most humans were oblivious to whatever happened around them, but not her. He knew she could sense his presence even though she was completely unaware of his existence. It was as if she had some hidden gift of perception. He pondered about this while the girls continued chattering, and ignored the rest of their conversation.

After a while, Valeria decided to go home._ 'Finally!'_ he thought as he released a long sigh of annoyance. It was time for him to make an appearance, and so, he glided in the dark as if he was part of the shadows in the night and hurried up to the path she was going to take to go back to the Hall. He would have to make himself known at a prudent distance. He didn't want her to attract attention from others.

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Valeria was riding the bike at a slow speed, being careful not to bump into anything that would make her lose her balance. The light coming from the front of the bike was not very strong but it was better than nothing. She was starting to regret not accepting Marie's offer to sleep over. Her whole being was practically even more edgy than before, and she could not understand why. It was worse than the first time she experienced stage fright. It really was starting to make her anxious. And so, she almost fell off the bike when she thought she saw a shadow up on the side of the road.

Valeria stopped and was frightened at first, but then thought it was probably Matthew playing a joke on her. Putting up a bravado, she set her shoulders straight, and her head up high and said out loud _"All right. Joke's over. I really need to get home. I'm not in the mood for games…"_

_"Aw but my dear…games are fun…"_ Marak thought smirking. He decided to play a trick on her and muttered a spell to make her bike run very slow. He then blended into the shadows and hurried up to the property. He needed to get there first. He had thought of surprising her on the road, but had decided against it. Better to meet her at her own home.

When no one answered, Valeria sighed loudly and then decided she should just speed up the road...but the bike was not moving quickly enough as much as she hit the gas, it would not speed up. It annoyed her to no end because she simply wanted to reach the safety of her room already. By the time she reached the Hall, she had forgotten about her apprehension and was majorly annoyed with the bike. She simply left it laying on the side of the drive way, and hurried around the house to come in through her room through the porch.

Once she was safe in the haven of her room, she turned the table lamp on and let herself drop on her bed nonchalantly as she kicked her shoes off. She was starting to close her eyes when she heard someone snicker. She had to bite her lower lip to stifle the shriek of panic that wanted to escape from her throat. There was a cloaked figure sitting at her desk, with his legs crossed casually.

_"What took you so long?"_ Marak asked chortling.

_"Who are you?! How did you get in here?!"_ she said trembling as she jumped off the bed and looked for something to use as a weapon.

Marak stood up and raising his hands as a sign of peace, he said _"I promise I will not do anything inappropriate or anything to hurt you…"_ He put his hands down and crossed them over his chest, then added with a teasing tone_ "…so stop trying to look for something to hit me with…"_

Valeria stopped scrambling around her room and moved over to the sliding doors to open them and run outside for her. But found that the door would not open as much as she shoved and pulled.

"_Do not try the other door either...they will not open unless I command them to and you can scream all you want, no one will hear you..." _Marak said in a bored tone.

"_Miss Bradley! HELP! ANYONE HELP ME! There's a psycho in my room!" _she shouted as loud as she could while she tried to get the sliding door to open. She waited for someone to come to her room but no one came. Miss Bradley should hear her, her room was across from hers. She plastered herself against the glass door and stared at the cloaked man with panic.

" _I don't have any money, if that's what you're looking for...I have a few things of value that you can take if you want, just leave us alone..." _Valeria said scared.

"_I told you I am not going to hurt you...I am here for something entirely different..." _

Valeria snorted non chalantly and said skeptically _"Oh yeah? And what is that? No man with good intentions will come in the middle of the night into a young woman's room..."_

She decided she would try to buy herself sometime by talking to the man while she figured a way to escape.

"_Oh but I do have good intentions...I came to see you...to see the famous Valeria everyone is talking about in the past few days...I know everything that goes on in this land..." _He said with a playful voice.

Valeria decided she did not like his teasing and found his tone infuriating.

"_Well, it's RUDE to speak to someone while you conceal your face..." _

Marak laughed, nodded and said _"All right then…but if I take the hood off, you have to promise not to scream…"_

Valeria frowned with confusion and wondered why he was making such a weird request. Of course, she was in for a surprise.

Marak stood up and pulled his hood down. The light may have been dim in the room, but Valeria could see a lot of details of the rather frightening creature that was standing before her. She gasped loudly and pressed herself even more against the door. She placed her arm protectively against her chest, as if it was some sort of shield that would fend off the creature in her room. She felt as if the air had left her lungs, so even if she had wanted to scream, she would not have been able to. In all her life, she had never seen nor imagined anything as ghastly as the creature before her. Marak was not surprised at her reaction but was also impressed that she had managed to keep herself from screaming.

He smiled slyly, with a glint of satisfaction in his yellow eyes, and then said to her_ "And you thought goblins did not exist…"_

Valeria felt lightheaded but regained composure after several minutes of blatant staring. Goblins, he had said. She remembered Lauren's story and shivered. Was he there to take her?. Wow. She was going insane, she was sure of that. She managed to breathe in calmly and then said evenly _"You're…a goblin?"_

Marak Panthereyes nodded and said_ "That's right. I am a goblin and a King for that matter…"_

_"There are others?"_ she squeaked and shuddered at the thought of the forest crawling with horrifying creatures.

Marak replied_ "Yes, there are many others. When I said that nothing escapes my ears, I wasn't exaggerating. I am the King of this land and whatever happens in this land is my business. And so, I've heard a great deal about you and was curious about meeting you"_

Valeria remained silent and simply stared at him from her spot, unable to look away. His eyes were yellow, and they seemed like they glowed in the dark, like a feline. They reminded her of a Panther's eyes. His face was broad, with high cheekbones, and his smooth skin had a brownish tone to it. He had black glossy straight hair, similar to a Japanese girl's hair, which he had allowed to rest on his shoulders. He had no eyebrows, and instead, he had some dark scales that lined up above his eyes. His nose was crooked. His mouth was wide and displayed perfectly pearly white teeth that looked almost human, except for the sharp looking fangs that made her think of vampires. Instead of human ears, he had a pair of black furry ears that looked like cat ears, and on the right one, he had a golden piercing. He had broad shoulders and thick arms, and seemed to have a bulky appearance, though she noticed he hunched slightly. He also had a cat like tail, it had black glossy smooth looking fur. He wore black gloves so she did not know what his hands were like. She shuddered again and then stared back into his Panther eyes. They seemed to be changing into an orange color as he studied her silently. He was a very bizarre creature.

_"Are your eyes truly violet or are you wearing those things called 'contacts' to make them look violet?"_ He asked suddenly.

She blinked perplexed at the question. No one had really asked her that before. Relaxing slightly, she answered a bit shakily_ "They are natural…no contacts…"_

Marak smiled, his fangs protruding slightly and said _"How interesting…"_ as he rubbed his chin gently with his fingers. Then looking at the clock hanging on the wall, he added_ "It seems that it's very late dear Valeria and I must allow you to rest…"_

Valeria looked at him indignantly and exclaimed _"And how do you suppose I'll get any sleep knowing there's a monster stalking me! What do you want from me?!"_

_"I just want to get to know you..." __He replied smiling slyly, __'for now'__, he added mentally._

_"Yup, I finally lost it..." __Valeria said to herself as she looked at the ceiling, laughing histerically and started ranting __"Coming here would be good for me, she said...yes, a lot of good it did me...I must allow you to rest, he says...Ha! As if!..."_

Marak said sighing _"It seems I'll have to help you with that…"_ Looking into her eyes again, he said very seriously but with a commanding tone, _"Valeria you're going to get enough sleep tonight and get up feeling refreshed. You'll remember what happened tonight, but you'll think it was a dream. You'll think I'm a figment of your imagination. And if you talk about my existence, no one will believe you…You simply got home feeling very tired after coming from Marie's house and went straight to bed. You can't remember the trip home but you got home safe and that's what matters. Sleep now dear Valeria…"_

The last thing Valeria saw as she felt her eyelids droop were Marak's eyes changing into a reddish color. She slid down to the floor and curled up on it, fast asleep.

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Marak Panthereyes approached his bride quietly and picked her up from the floor, then tucked her into her bed. He brushed a lock of her hair off her face and tucked it behind her ear. He studied her sleeping face for a few minutes and became entranced by her sleeping face. She had a small frown that made her look rather adorable. He sighed wondering what the heck he was doing playing cat and mouse with this young woman. Why couldn't he just take her away like every King before him had done with their Wife?. And then he remembered seeing for a fleeting moment a sad quality in her eyes and, then remembered the reports from his guards. She was a broken woman. And he needed someone who was whole. _'I probably botched the whole thing already…I just told her that I was a dream. How will she take it when she knows I am real?'_ he said to himself and sighed.

He left the room and closed the sliding glass doors quietly, and locked them with his magic. He had decided he would try to mend this woman's heart before taking her with him. Otherwise he feared that if he forced her to come with him, he would destroy what little was left of her heart. He felt it was important she was emotionally well when he brought her home with him. She had magic in her. As he went back home, he thought of her captivating violet eyes and knew, then, that he had been bewitched by them. Soon the Goblin King would find out that not only his magic was demanding to have the girl, but also his heart.


	7. Chapter 5

**Hope you're all liking it so far! **

**Disclaimer: You know the drill, I don't own the Hollow Kingdom Trilogy.**

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**Chapter 5**

As usual, Valeria woke up early the next morning. She felt very refreshed as she rubbed the sleep off from her eyes, and rolled off the bed. As she washed her face, she remembered the weird dream she had the night before. _Marak_, she thought and her whole body stiffened as the details of her 'encounter' came at once. She hurried out of the bathroom and started to pace around the room frantically looking around, trying to find any proof that he…existed. However, her room remained intact and bore no indication that a mythical creature had been standing in it. Cautiously, she went to the sliding doors and peeked outside through the blinds, as if she was expecting the see the goblin himself standing outside on the porch. She blinked as the bright sunlight hit her eyes and she walked away from the sliding doors, leaving the blinds closed. She sat back on her bed and relived the strange encounter with Marak, remembering every detail of it again. Hugging her arms around herself, she wondered if she had imagined it at all. Shutting her eyes, she told herself it was a dream, a product of her imagination, but something deep inside of her told her otherwise. Shaking her head with finality, she stood up and firmly scolded herself for being so silly as to be scared of a dream._ 'It was only a dream. A dream and nothing more…'_ she told herself, putting the memory of Marak on the back of her mind. She had better things to do than to fret about night time stories and mythical creatures, she concluded.

Slowly, she slid off the bed and headed into the bathroom to get ready for the day. Many thoughts ran through her head as she showered and changed. She wondered if it was healthy to be having dreams like the one she had the night before. It had felt so real. She wondered if she should even tell Miss Bradley about it, but then quickly dismissed the idea. If she said anything, people would surely think she had lost her sanity and she may be forced to see a doctor. Then she remembered the goblin's sharp, inquisitive eyes, and shivered involuntarily. Even imagining being under his scrutiny was unnerving to her. _'If he was real, I would not dare to defy him or lie to him'_ she thought _'He definitely seems to be someone that cannot be trifled with'._ She frowned and wondered if this is how writers found the characters for their books, if they dreamed about them. This imaginary creature even had a name for goodness' sake!

She sighed with annoyance as she finished fixing her hair and looked at herself in the mirror. She could see the anxiety in her eyes and this made her grimace. Miss Bradley would surely see through her easily and would probe her with questions. But she could not tell her. What if she took it the wrong way and decided she needed to seek professional help? Oh no, she could not let that happen. She was not crazy. But then again, doing that would take her away from this place, she thought. _'I think it's time to leave. I didn't want to come here in the first place'_ she reasoned._ 'You're running away again'_ another voice said in the back of her head_ 'You're avoiding your problems'_. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and huffed, annoyed at herself._ 'For goodness' sake girl! It was just a dream and nothing more! You're making a flood out of a puddle!'_ she thought to herself _'It was only natural that you would have dreams about goblins after listening to Marie's friends' silly stories about goblins and elves…'._

Then she thought of the months she had spent in silent depression and silent suffering. She had pretended to be all right, ignored her suffering, and had focused only on dancing to escape reality. Now that she had started to face her sorrows and overcome them, the success had given her a sense of empowerment and peace of mind. Worrying about a silly dream and thinking it was a sign of insanity, was a threat to that sense of empowerment. Since she was really curious about the subject of goblins, she decided it would not be a bad idea to do some research on them. It would give her something to do, she thought and feeling better about the whole thing, she exited her room.

She ate breakfast quickly and then headed outside, remembering she had left the dirt on the ground. She found it where she had left it. Looking at it with some suspicion, she approached it and then proceeded to mount it. She mounted it cautiously, and then turned the ignition keys, and geared the gas handle. To her surprise it started right away, and when she kicked off to go forward, it did it with ease. She rode it for a bit, and it accelerated every time she hit the gas. _'It was only a dream. See? What more proof do you want? The bike is fine'_ she thought as she pulled over by the shed to put it away. Marak's sly expression crossed her mind for a fleeting moment, and decided that for an imaginary creature, he could be very infuriating.

Frowning with curiosity, she wondered if goblins could work magic. That would be something she would look up for sure when she started researching them. Sighing, she decided she would clear her head by going up to the studio to play some piano. The piano always seemed to soothe her thoughts when they were in turmoil.

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Aristar had been observing her from the moment she had stepped out of the house. His eyes tingled with amusement at seeing the expressions of confusion, realization and denial in her face as she fooled around with the dirt bike. He had to give some credit to her. _'Other women would probably shut themselves in their room, quavering in fear'_, he thought. However, he wished his King would marry her already. He was starting to get bored with watching her all the time. He sighed as he watched her go back inside, and then flew off to report to the King.

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Morgen, in his mouse form, listened to her play from a book shelf. Judging by the music she was playing, he could tell she was in a brooding mood. It amazed him that he was getting to know her so well. And he was even more amazed at how she handled her first encounter with the King. He had expected her to either faint or starting shrieking with fear. But she had not done either and in fact, had accepted their existence. Or at least, that's what it seemed like to him. However, he knew it would not be the same reaction when she found out that he and Aristar had been watching her from the moment she put a foot into the property. Oh she was going to find that out one day, and he knew her anger was going to be colossal. And then he remembered his King telling her that what she had seen was a dream, and this caused him to grumble. He wondered why the King had decided to do such a thing. Putting that thought on the back of his mind for the moment, he sighed contentedly, enjoying the lovely music. Closing his little eyes, he curled up comfortably to enjoy the private concert.

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That afternoon, Valeria did some research on the subject of goblins with her laptop. And she found that no one really had a straight answer about what they were supposed to be like or how to even get rid of them. She did this in the solace of the room, as to not arise any suspicions. She didn't want her manager to start asking questions. Sitting comfortably on her bed, surrounded by pillows, Valeria navigated through different websites, looking for information on goblins. She snorted with amusement as she read an article about goblins making milk go sour with their laughter._ 'I wonder what Marak would say about that…'_ she wondered, and then felt foolish about even considering the goblin's opinion. _'For someone who only exists in a dream, you think of him a lot…'_ she heard her inner voice said in a snarky tone. She rolled her eyes and continued reading. Several minutes later, she had found many articles that indicated that goblins were mischievous creatures and some indicated that they may have magical abilities, while other articles depicted them as blood thirsty, evil, spiteful creatures. She sighed, feeling a bit tired. Then, from the corner of her eye, she noticed the little brown mouse perched on the bed's headboard, looking down at her.

_'You definitely aren't a shy one…'_ she said softly as she looked at him closely.

_"Do you know anything about goblins? I can't find anything that makes sense about them. Most of the things I've read feel wrong somehow…"_

She sighed and closed the laptop, then said out loud, rubbing her temples gently, _"I am not making any sense am I? Do you think I have finally cracked and this is what I get for not dealing with my depression properly?"_ She got closer to the little mouse and scratched its little head gently, his little whiskers trembling slightly when she did so. She frowned and said _"Do you think a vacation in a tropical island would do me any good?"_. Her face broke into a smile as the little mouse simply stared at her. She chuckled and then laid back down in the pillows.

She started to think about the 'dream' again. She tried to remember how she felt with the goblin so close to her. And concluded that she had felt Marak had no ill intentions towards her. She could not really say that her dream had been a nightmare because she had not woken up scared. She just woke up feeling…weird. That's the best way she could put it. _'What if I dream about it again?'_ she thought. Closing her eyes, she decided she would then interview the goblin King the next time she dreamed of him, if she did at all, and ask him all sorts of questions about his race. This thought made her laugh. Her thoughts were disrupted when she heard a tap on her sliding door. Sitting up with surprise, she jumped off the bed and went to see what was making that noise on her door.

To her surprise, it was Matthew. She unlocked the door and opened it. She stepped outside on the porch. It was still mid afternoon and the sun was shining brightly.

_"Hey there…How have you been?"_ Matthew asked as he crossed his arms casually. He was wearing work overalls and rubber boots covered in dirt. It was obvious he had been working on the gardens that afternoon.

_"Doing all right. Just relaxing a bit…"_ She replied, feeling a bit awkward at being alone with him

_"I was wondering if you'd like to go for a walk after I'm done with everything here. You haven't been up to the lake, have you?"_ he asked.

She shook her head in response and added_ "No, I haven't had the chance to see it yet…"_

_"So, what do you say? Would you like to go for a walk and see it?"_ he asked with a twinge of eagerness in his tone and a hopeful look.

She smiled a bit timidly and said _"Yes, it sounds like it could be fun. And it's very nice out. I do need some fresh air…"_

_"Great! I'll come back in an hour or so, I'm almost done with my tasks for today..."_ His eyes were lit up with excitement. He had been expecting her to decline the invitation. _"I got to go back to work now, so I'll see you later…"_

Once he was gone, she started to pace her room and started to bite her lower lip nervously. Marie had teased her once, hinting that Matthew fancied her. She started to have doubts about going on a walk with him alone. If Marie was right, she did not want to encourage it. But then again, she thought, as she tapped her chin gently, maybe he could tell her a bit more of the local stories about goblins. She changed into some more comfortable clothes to go hiking, and then went to look for Miss Bradley to let her know she was going out. Miss Bradley had gone to the Lodge for tea with Mrs. Wilkins, so Valeria opted for leaving her a note.

She went outside to the shed. She would go for a short joy ride on the dirt bike around the property before going on the walk with Matthew.

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Morgen had witnessed the invitation of the walk and did not like it one bit. He could tell the boy was rather smitten with Valeria and she, in turn, seemed a bit reluctant to go. However, Valeria's safety was not a concern, for he did know that the boy would not harm her. His problem was the fact that Valeria was the King's chosen bride and it did not bid well that she was sought after by another male. He wondered why in the name of the First Fathers, King Marak had not taken her to the Underground already. Almost immediately, he remembered that the King was aware of Valeria's plight with grief and betrayal, and figured that the King did not want to aggravate her emotional state. She was still recovering after all. Annoyed with his King and his charge, Morgen ran out of the house and into the grass, and scurried into the forest, to report to Marak what was happening.

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An hour later, Matthew and Valeria made their way through the forest trail, heading towards the lake. Trying her best to not seem so nervous or weird, Valeria asked Matthew if he knew any of the local stories about goblins.

_"Why would you want to know about that?"_ He asked with some confusion.

_"Because it's interesting to know what the folk tales are like in a town…you have no idea how many folk stories I've heard from all of the places I've visited…"_ she explained trying to sound as if it was a normal thing to ask.

Matthew rubbed the back of his neck, as he tried to remember the silly tales his mother would tell him to get him and Marie to behave. However, he only had vague memories of them. Then, he remembered Mrs. Wilkins telling Marie a story of elves and goblins once.

_"Well, Mrs. Wilkins told Marie a tale…of how the elves and goblins steal girls to marry them. And that's why the older folk around here don't approve of unmarried women to roam around alone close to the woods. She said that a long, long time ago, a young girl named Kate Winslow and his little sister disappeared mysteriously. It was said that she was barely eighteen years old when she disappeared. She and her little sister came to live in Hallow Hill with some relatives. After a few weeks, Kate started to tell her guardians that goblins were trying to take her away. And then one day, just like that, she and her little sister vanished without a trace. Many people blame the guardian for their disappearance. Mr. Roberts, I think he was called, had wanted to get rid of them because Hallow Hill belonged to the girls and he wanted to take the property for himself. But anyway, in the past, every time there was a disappearance of a girl, it was blamed on goblins…or elves…the magical folk…whatever…"_ He said casually.

_"There's been others?"_ Valeria asked, interested in his tale.

_"Ummm…yes…"_ he said frowning as he realized something, then said _"It's really strange, now that I think about it…There was some girl named Adele Roberts who lived in Hallow Hill as well, who disappeared several years before Kate and Emily did…Now that you mention it, there has been strange stories linked to Hallow Hall..."_

_"That most likely was a great factor in why my father bought that place...he liked mystical things and mysteries..." __She replied casually though_ a cold shiver ran down her spine.

Girls disappearing from the property she was staying at, goblin stories and her dream with the Goblin King, was it all really a coincidence?, she wondered. Luckily, Matthew had been too distracted to notice the slight tension in her eyes and gait, so she forced herself to relax and then said with a casual tone _"Interesting. And where do you suppose the goblins live? I mean, they have to live somewhere…what do the stories say?"_

_"Well, I'm not sure. It is said they live in underground caverns, where it's cold, damp, and dark…the elves supposedly live in the forest and there are tales of sightings…"_ he said shrugging.

The wind started to pick up a little and the air had a hazy quality to it. The breeze that was rustling the trees smelled of rain. Matthew looked up at the sky, and frowned with disgust, then said _"Huh…That's strange…I can usually tell when it's going to rain or not, and I could've sworn we would not have rain today. Of course, this part of the country is famous for its crazy stormy weather…but those clouds up there have an unusual feel to it…"_

"_Oh but maybe it won't rain right away…_" Valeria suggested as they continued walking _"Besides, we're almost there, right?"_

_"Yeah, a few more minutes and we'll reach the lake…"_ he said as he eyed the sky with suspicion. A gray haze started to form, too thin to be called clouds, but still too thick to be called anything else. The sun was still shining through it, though it was getting close to sunset. _'Hopefully it clears up so we can see the sunset together…'_ he thought eagerly. They both started to walk faster to reach their destination. And as they walked, Valeria noticed a small river which Matthew explained it was connected to the lake.

Once they reached the lake, they came to a clearing in front of it, and she could not help but to run to its shore. The sandy shore looked inviting and the water of the lake was almost still. The reflection of the sun on the lake's water made the whole place look brighter. _'It smells so fresh in here…'_ she thought as she walked along the shore and looked around. She knelt down and dipped her fingers in the water, and marveled at how peaceful this place made her feel. It was a very strange feeling, for never had she felt so much peace and calm in a place before. She glanced farther ahead and noted that there was a knotted looking tree, and its roots were submerged into the water. Around the roots, there were water lilies floating, which made her want to go there and pluck one out of the water. She stood up smiling and said to Matthew _"It's lovely out here…thank you for showing it to me…"_

Matthew smiled timidly and replied _"Hardly anyone comes out here. It's a bit too far from the town. But sometimes we come here with the guys to swim and hang out…"_

He came closer to her and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, the same one that Marak had tucked behind her ear the night before, and said softly _"I'm glad you liked it…_"

They were both standing in front of each other, and Valeria's heart started to beat frantically. She could hear it pumping at a mad rate in her ears. She looked up at Matthew nervously and he looked down at her with fascinated eyes. He leaned down over to her, with the intention of kissing her. Valeria froze in the spot and thoughts of her ex-fiancée started to run through her mind. She admitted to herself that Matthew was good looking and seemed to be sweet, but she did not know him and it was too soon for her to open her heart to anyone. However, even though her mind was working at an accelerated rate, her body was not and had become still. Matthew had closed his eyes in anticipation so he missed the look of horror in her eyes.

And just when she thought she was doomed, a loud thunder made both of them jump with surprise and before any of them were able to say something, the rain started pouring down as if there was no tomorrow. Within a few of minutes, both of them were drenched and cold to the bone. Valeria huffed with annoyance and her teeth chattering, she said out loud _"We better go home now!"_

Matthew simply nodded, hiding his disappointment at the ruined moment, and both of them started to run back home, nearly slipping in the mud and splashing through puddles. By the time they reached the end of the trail, and they could see the Hall, the rain had suddenly stopped. Valeria took a minute to look at herself and noticed her shoes were completely covered with thick mud as well as her socks. She grimaced at the leaves and mud that were stuck on her ankles and did not like the heavy feeling of wet clothes. Her hair was plastered to her face and she could feel cold water running down her back. She shivered and then took a minute to look at Matthew. He looked no better and he actually had leaves on his hair. She chuckled softly and then said _"You weren't kidding when you said the weather here can be crazy…"_

They both headed to the Hall. Luckily, Matthew still had his work clothes that he could wear to go back to town. They were dirty but dry. Matthew told her he would go to the Lodge to change and maybe get some tea from Mrs. Wilkins before he headed back home. They said their goodbyes and Valeria went back into the house to change and get warm.

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Aristar and Marak were both standing in front of the water mirror. Morgen was standing behind them in his goblin form. Several minutes earlier, Morgen had burst into Marak's study as he and Aristar were discussing some kingdom matters. Morgen had reported that Valeria had a possible suitor and this caused Marak to go to the water mirror immediately. The wall was a sheet of calm black water; it looked just like the surface of any pond except that it was vertical. Amidst the gentle ripples, an image started to form as Marak stood in front of it. And then he witnessed Valeria and Matthew chatting as they made their way to the lake.

_"Where are they going?"_ Marak asked Morgen, almost growling. His eyes were trained on the young man. He did not like the way Matthew smiled at Valeria.

_"They're heading out to the lake…"_ Morgen replied, feeling a menacing aura coming from the King.

Marak muttered something too softly for the others to understand; then he cupped his hands and looked into them with concentration. A gray fluffy smoke lapped over his fingers and began drifting towards the mirror. The smoke went into the surface of the mirror. In the image, the smoke rose up to the sky and then the wind started to pick up, and Matthew's face frowned with confusion at the sudden change of weather. Marak smirked with satisfaction, and then turned to his two guards.

_"That should take care of it…they will go back home now…"_ Marak said smugly.

_"Not yet…"_ Morgen noted as he pointed at the water mirror _"It seems like the young lady really wants to see the lake…they're still walking towards it…"_

Marak observed the mirror sullenly and watched them reach the lake. He watched the whole scene unfolding as Matthew approached his bride and tried to kiss her. In a flash, he snapped his fingers and rain started to pour hard on them. He watched as the two started to run back to the Hall.

_"It's not going to do her any good to catch pneumonia…"_ Morgen said to his King.

Marak watched them run for a few minutes, waited for them to be closer to the Hall, and snapped his fingers again and the rain stopped. He watched them saying their goodbyes and going back into the house to change.

_"Your Majesty, you should just bring her here soon…"_ Aristar said out loud _"She attracts attention without even trying, don't you think?"_

Marak sighed and rubbing his temples, he said looking at both of them with weary looks_ "I understand what your concerns are…but I cannot bring her here yet…Not until her heart is mended. The human mind is frail and so is the heart. Remember what happened to Belinda, the wife of the Elf King named New Moon? She died of heart ache. She ended her own life but she did it out of heart ache…Both of you know Valeria is woman with a broken heart. I cannot risk bringing her here and making it worse. I am going to wait…"_

Aristar and Morgen refrained from saying more and simply nodded at him. Marak dismissed them and they went to see their families for a bit before they returned to their posts. Marak watched the Hall from the mirror and sighed again. What he had gotten himself into? , he thought as he watched Matthew getting into his car and driving off back to the town. More importantly, what was this feeling of protectiveness he felt towards Valeria?, he wondered. He didn't even know her and he was already feeling protective over her. He remained in front of the mirror, mulling over his visit to Valeria tonight. He was going to visit her even though he had practically convinced her that he was only a dream. When he noticed that the sun was setting, Marak turned away from the mirror and headed to his quarters. He needed to get ready for tonight's visit.


	8. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

After the afternoon's fiasco, Valeria happily showered and changed into warm, dry pajamas. She had a light dinner with Miss Bradley, and retired to her bedroom early. She wanted some time alone to think about what had happened.

_"I should've noticed..."_ she said to herself as she stared up at the canopy of her four poster bed. She should have noticed that Matthew fancied her and should have declined the invitation for the walk. She didn't want to encourage him. _'Coward'_ a voice in her head taunted her.

She sighed out loud with frustration and rolled off the bed. She decided to go to the dance studio and play some piano. She hoped Miss Bradley was already sleeping because she didn't want to be questioned as to what was bothering her.

Wearing a spaghetti strap tank top, and loose pajama silk bottoms, she headed to the piano room with a light step. She loved the feeling of the cold wood on the soles of her bare feet and smiled as she thought of her father remodeling this home. She wished she had been there with him when he had bought the property.

"There you go again, making yourself sad" she thought as she opened the door of the dance studio and hurried inside it.

She quickly headed to the piano and started to play a slow and solemn song. Then she started to play one of Richard Clayderman's romantic pieces, and sighed a little bitterly, thinking of romance being deceitful. She allowed the music to take over and continued playing piece after piece...

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Marak slipped into Valeria's room, expecting to find her sleeping. However, the bed was empty. Frowning with annoyance, he walked around the room looking for her...when he heard music in the distance. He followed the sound of the music, stepping onto the hall and muttered a quick spell towards Miss Bradley's room, to make sure she would stay asleep.

When he reached the studio, he opened the door very softly, muttering another spell to make the door open silently. As soon as he spotted Valeria, he muttered another spell to make her sleep. Valeria had been so enthralled by the music, that she did not notice the intruder in her studio. She was going to slump backwards and about to fall off the bench when Marak swiftly came behind her, and held her against his chest. He sat beside the sleeping beauty, placing an arm around her to prop her up, and placed a his index finger on her forehead.

Valeria opened her eyes slowly, grumbling incoherently, and froze when her vision cleared and her eyes were staring right into Marak's yellow cat eyes. She was about to scream, when a gloved hand covered her mouth to muffle her screaming.

Marak's ears twitched as he said rather sheepish tone _"Please...don't...you'll hurt my ears..."_

Valeria's shock quickly turned into indignation and pushed his hand off her mouth, then said as she replied flustered flailing her arms above her head _"What?! I will HURT your ears?! I oughta pound you to the ground for breaking into my house! What the hell are YOU doing here?! "_

She then realized he was sitting very close to her, and had an arm around her, holding her up. She jumped off the bench away from him and rubbed both of her shoulders rather frantically as if his touch would leave debris on her skin, and said a little hysterical _"Oh I am finally losing it...yup, I am going to end up in the mad house all right..."_

Marak sighed annoyed, and said as he rolled his eyes _"Valeria...calm down, will ya? You're blowing things out of proportion...you're being rather dramatic..."_

_"I AM NOT BLOWING THINGS OUT OF PROPORTION!"_ She screeched angrily _"How am I supposed to be calm when I am going crazy?!...". She pinched her arm really hard and said "I need to wake up! Come on, Valeria, why aren't you waking up?!"_

Marak groaned irritated, considering for a moment to simply snatch her away and put an end to this charade. However, he remembered how he had promised his mother to be patient with his bride, and so, he took a deep breath, and decided to play along with her.

_"Well, maybe it's not time for you to wake up yet...since you think I'm a figment of your imagination, what's there to worry about? You're only dreaming after all, are you not?"_ He replied casually as he started to tap on the piano keys.

She watched him tap on the keys playfully for a few moments as she pondered on what he had just said, and found the sight of him on the piano rather soothing. She cautiously approached him and said_ "Do you play?"_

He looked up at her and smiled, then said _"Not much. My mother tried to teach me but I had more affinity for the guitar..."_

Valeria could not help to smile at him. Somehow, him mentioning his mother made her feel a little warm inside. Plus, she could not help to imagine what he would look like with a guitar.

_"Play something for me..."_ He asked smiling as he made room for her and patted the spot beside him in a friendly way. His tail swished playfully behind him as he felt a bit hopeful as he noticed she was apparently warming up to him.

She was a bit apprehensive at first, but seeing the hopeful look he was giving her made her change her mind. Plus, noticing his swishing tail made her think of a cat, and that caused her to giggle. She sat down beside him and said_ "I'll play my favorite song...Waterfall..."_

She had a look of concentration when she started. Her fingers started to dance on the keys gracefully and quickly. And the more energy she put into the piece, the more excited she became and her eyes simply sparkled with delight. Marak could not help but stare at her for a few minutes, seeing the magic of her presence, and his heart fluttered for a moment as he thought of how beautiful she looked when she was happy.

He didn't want to make her uncomfortable so he stopped staring, and simply closed his eyes to enjoy the music. When the music stopped, he opened his eyes and clapped softly, and said smiling _"Bravo! That was beautiful!"_

She smiled, blushing slightly at his compliment and stood up, then said _"Thank you, I guess..."_

Marak stood up, and Valeria noticed how tall he really was. He was told all right, and had a bit of a bulky build. He could overpower her easily. Marak could feel her stare but didn't acknowledge it. He did not want her to be nervous around him. He simply studied the room they were in and said casually_ "Nice room..."_

_"It's a dance studio...I...am supposed to practice my dancing here..."_ she replied as she walked toward the middle of the dance floor.

_"Supposed to? You have a gift...you should nourish it..."_ He said as he stood where he was, watching her as she stood there, looking down at her bare feet.

_"Sometimes I don't feel that fire anymore...I don't know...it just brings back bad memories..."_ she said as she hugged herself.

_"But aren't there more happy ones than painful ones? Think of those instead. Besides, pain and happiness define us, they help shape who we become. Pain is not necessarily a bad thing. How else are we to know joy if we do not experience pain? There has to be an opposite for all things, or else we would not know the difference..."_ Marak replied

She looked up at him and gave him a sad smile _"I suppose you're right. I never thought of it that way. But it's not easy to move on..."_

He walked towards her and grabbed her hands. She stiffened for a moment, nervous and a bit horrified. A goblin was touching her after all. He kissed her knuckles softly, and said as he looked intently at her _"Not easy, you're right...but not impossible...and you, my dear, can do anything you put your mind to. You underestimate yourself. You're stronger than you give yourself credit for..."_

He released her hands, and stepped away from her, and then went to the sound system. He stared at it for a moment with a frown until he remembered which buttons to push. When he had been younger, he had indulged in music and had gotten himself a sound system. But now that he had a lot of responsibilities, he had completely forgotten about it and rarely used it. A tango started to play and he wished he knew how to dance it. He pushed another button and this time a waltz played. Ah! That he knew how to dance.

Valeria had been watching him the whole time, wondering what was he up to. She was surprised when he came her way, and bowed, and offered her his hand to dance. She was about to refuse when he beat her to it, and said_ "You can't say no...come on, show me your expertise...one song is all I ask..."_

She sighed and took his hand, and allowed her to lead her to the middle of the dance floor. She placed her hand on his shoulder and her other into his other hand rather gingerly. Marak looked down at her and said _"Relax...it's just a dance..."_

She couldn't help to notice his posture was simply perfect and that he held her with confidence. She smiled as she simply followed his lead, stepping lightly as they dance and twirling smoothing when he prompted her to. By the time the song ended, he had surprised her with a small dip and she had laughed, feeling light hearted. Another song started to play, but Marak was true to his word and released her.

He bowed his head respectfully to her but said playfully _"Thank you, Madame...You have greatly honored this unworthy servant before you with this dance..."_

Valeria rolled her eyes and replied playfully _"That's not something a King should be saying..."_

_"Oh no? And pray tell, what is a King supposed to say or be like?"_ he asked as he crossed his arms.

_"Well, they are demanding, spoiled, and arrogant, looking down on people below their station..."_ she said teasing him.

_"That sounds more like Jareth...but he's a different story..."_ Marak replied

Valeria's eyes widened in disbelief and said _"He does exist?!"_

_"Of course! Myths and legends have some truth to them..."_ he said in a matter-of-fact tone

_"You're telling me..."_ she grumbling softly. She looked up at him and could not help to stare at him. He was a bizarre looking creature and she had been terrified at first, but now she didn't feel so scared. He was actually...pleasant.

Marak smirked and said teasing her _"I must be quite the sight to you...I know Jareth is more gentle for the eyes..."_

Valeria blushed and said a bit flustered_ " I...well...I didn't...Umm I don't know, I mean, I don't know what Jareth really looks like so it's not like I have something to compare to..."_

Marak found her reaction and reply rather comical, and could not help to laugh out loud.

Valeria was frowning with annoyance, she was sure he was making fun of her. He noticed her annoyance and could not help but to be amused by it. He stopped laughing though, he didn't want to risk making her angry. He'd rather see her smiling.

_"Well, I guess I should go now..."_ he said as he looked at the time. It was very late.

_"Where to?"_ Valeria blurted out

_"My home. Don't we all have a home? Besides, you already know...your little friends told you where we goblins live..."_ Marak said, chuckling softly at the memory of their absurd stories.

_"Is it really dark and ghastly as they say?"_ she asked curiously.

_"It is more beautiful than you can possibly imagine...One day I hope I can show it to you..."_ he replied with fondness

She smiled and said innocently, playing along, still thinking she was dreaming _"I'll hold you to that. I'd like to see it..."_

At her reply, he smiled brightly and said _"Oh you'll love it..."_

He grabbed her hands again and kissed her knuckles softly, then said _"But until then, have a goodnight, my lady...until we meet again..."_

She was about to yank her hands out of his, when he pulled her into his chest and whispered something in her ears, causing her to slump in his arms again. He placed her on the couch where the home theater was and sighed. He had a long way to go with her. He shut the music off, and then exited the room, closing the door behind him. He followed the hall all the way to her room, and left the same way he came in. He hummed the same song Valeria had played for him as he made his way home. He was still humming when he entered the kingdom, the guards wondering why the King was in such a good mood.

* * *

**Howdy! I am back! I am so sorry I have not updated. The new job has got me a bit busy, plus I got sick (My one kidney gave us quite the scare!) and I'm in the middle of a move. Hope you enjoy the chapter! Reviews are VERY welcome... thanks!**


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